Republicans Blame 'Woke' For Bank Collapse | HuffPost Latest News

Republicans and conservative influencers have settled on their reason for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

It wasnt the 2018 repeal of stricter regulations on regional banks, passed on a bipartisan basis and signed into law by former President Donald Trump. It wasnt a bank run triggered by nervous venture capitalists and start-up founders. It wasnt even interest rates hiked by the Federal Reserve to curb inflation.

Conservatives have instead united around blaming wokeness for the banks collapse, arguing without evidence that the existence of diversity, equity and inclusion programs led to mismanagement.

This bank, theyre so concerned with DEI and politics and all kinds of stuff I think that really diverted from them focusing on their core mission, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Fox News on Sunday.

SVB = too woke to fail, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on Twitter .

Former President Donald Trump , Donald Trump Jr., House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, Trump adviser Stephen Miller and the big business-friendly Wall Street Journal opinion page have all made similar arguments as Republicans, who fiercely fight any attempt to regulate Wall Street and the broader financial industry, work to shift blame from far more obvious culprits.

Insisting wokeness is to blame for the banks failure and the need for a subsequent bailout by federal authorities aiming to prevent a broader run on regional banks is an attempt by the GOP to shift the terms of discussion from regulation and the power of the banking industry, where most Republicans Wall Street-friendly views are out of step with public opinion, to culture war grounds, where they feel they have an advantage.

The rhetoric, which echoes the partys attempt to blame poor and Black homeowners in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, also follows longstanding conservative efforts to demonize any attempt to diversify workforces and a more recent obsession with the purportedly liberal lean of big business on cultural issues. (BuzzFeed, HuffPosts parent company, banked with SVB.)

Woke, which began as African American vernacular to encourage awareness of social injustice, has increasingly become the GOPs all-purpose epithet to discredit any institution breaking from the partys political and policy goals, applied to everything from the military to the media.

The GOPs focus on wokeness has irritated Democrats, who view the issue as irrelevant to what should be done with bank regulation in the future and how to resolve the crisis.

It is indeed SUPER WOKE to hold high volumes of uninsured deposits and fail to manage risk by over relying on illiquid long term bonds and inadequately hedging against rising interest rates, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on Twitter , with no small amount of sarcasm.

Count me in for all the woke means everything I dont like or understand content. Tremendous.

FYI it was a Republican super donor who backed the bank and then led the run that created the crisis. So maybe not everything is shirts/skins?

But wth Im in! Woke! Its all woke!! https://t.co/311GYQaJ2T

Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 13, 2023","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Chris Murphy","author_url":"https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT","cache_age":86400,"description":"Count me in for all the woke means everything I dont like or understand content. Tremendous. FYI it was a Republican super donor who backed the bank and then led the run that created the crisis. So maybe not everything is shirts/skins?But wth Im in! Woke! Its all woke!! https://t.co/311GYQaJ2T Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 13, 2023\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Chris Murphy on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1635363977705443330","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"640feacbe4b0bc5cb64c4747","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/republicans-blame-woke-silicon-valley-bank_n_640feacbe4b0bc5cb64c4747","entryTagsList":"republican-party,deregulation,silicon-valley-bank,wokeness,bank-failure","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/b6a4352c-59e1-4377-8bfb-648532b282cb/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":9},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"640feacbe4b0bc5cb64c4747","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/republican-party","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party"},"relegenceId":3696335,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/republican-party"},{"name":" deregulation","slug":"deregulation","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/deregulation","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/deregulation","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/deregulation"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/deregulation"},{"name":"silicon valley bank","slug":"silicon-valley-bank","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/silicon-valley-bank","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/silicon-valley-bank","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/silicon-valley-bank"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/silicon-valley-bank"},{"name":"wokeness","slug":"wokeness","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/wokeness","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/wokeness","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/wokeness"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/wokeness"},{"name":"bank failure","slug":"bank-failure","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/bank-failure","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/bank-failure","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/bank-failure"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/bank-failure"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Count me in for all the woke means everything I dont like or understand content. Tremendous.

FYI it was a Republican super donor who backed the bank and then led the run that created the crisis. So maybe not everything is shirts/skins?

But wth Im in! Woke! Its all woke!! https://t.co/311GYQaJ2T
Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 13, 2023

Lucas Kunce, a progressive antitrust expert and Marine Corps veteran who is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Hawley in deeply Republican Missouri, blasted Hawley as a phony populist more interested in scoring culture-war points than regulating a runaway industry.

Hes going to do anything he can to fuel the charade hes got going on, Kunce said of Hawleys attacks on the bank. Nothing about banks getting Congress to rewrite the rules. Nothing about reform or protecting Missourians. We need real banking reform.

Hawley, for his part, promised to introduce legislation barring banks from saddling customers with the fees necessary to pay for the bailout, and said he would make sure responsible community banks were exempt from the levies.

Evidence of Silicon Valley Banks supposed wokeness is also thin. While the bank did deploy the rhetoric on race and gender issues now mainstream in corporate America, there is little evidence that it was an outlier or that it impacted the bottom line.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, columnist Andy Kessler noted the banks board was 45% women, with one Black member and one member who is LGBTQ.

Im not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands, Kessler wrote.

A glance at the banks board of directors shows typical financial industry backgrounds rather than a collection of the unqualified. The one Black director was Richard Daniels, a former top executive at Kaiser Permanente who previously worked at JPMorgan Chase and Capital One.

The same bank document that Kessler cited on board diversity also recommends that SVB shareholders vote against an independent racial justice audit, arguing the company already did more than enough on diversity, equity and inclusion, and asserting a host of boilerplate platitudes.

We are on a journey and will continue to evolve, the board wrote. Over time, we expect to identify opportunities and new approaches to address systemic racism and social injustice as we continue to seek diverse perspectives, learn from our efforts, and improve upon our existing processes and programs. We are committed to continuous learning and improvement based on actual feedback and data, and sharing our progress with our stockholders and broader community.

Conservative influencers, along with the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post , have also spotlighted Jay Ersapah, the head of financial risk at Silicon Valley Bank UK. Erasph regularly discussed her background as a queer immigrant and promoted the companys diversity initiatives. But Silicon Valley Bank UK was not responsible for the collapse of its California-based parent and did not suffer from the bank run. A major British bank, HSBC, purchased the UK branch on Sunday.

Efforts to blame financial calamities on racial minorities arent new for the GOP. In 2008, when a wave of mortgage foreclosures froze the financial system, led to the collapse of Bear Stearns and resulted in massive government intervention to save major banks and automakers, Republicans blamed federal affordable housing goals.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

The consensus view of that financial crisis fingered the lack of regulation around derivatives trading as an underlying cause. Many Republicans, however, pushed an alternative angle, blaming government efforts to increase home lending to Black people, the poor and young people as feeding a wave of foreclosures.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, for instance, pointed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the government-backed mortgage lenders that offered many loans to the poor as the main protagonists in the financial meltdown in a 2010 speech. And a GOP appointee to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission a government body assembled to investigate the causes of the crisis devoted a lengthy dissent to arguing government housing policy was essential to the crisis.